The End of Sprawl?

Although the end of sprawl will require painful changes, it will also provide a badly needed opportunity to take stock of the car-dependent, privatized society that has evolved over the past 60 years and to begin imagining different ways of living and governing. We may discover that it's not so bad living closer to work, in transit- and pedestrian-friendly, diverse neighborhoods where we run into friends and neighbors as we walk to the store, school or the office. We may even find that we don't miss our cars and commutes, and the culture they created, nearly as much as we feared we would.

Washington Post

The End of Sprawl?

Although the end of sprawl will require painful changes, it will also provide a badly needed opportunity to take stock of the car-dependent, privatized society that has evolved over the past 60 years and to begin imagining different ways of living and governing. We may discover that it's not so bad living closer to work, in transit- and pedestrian-friendly, diverse neighborhoods where we run into friends and neighbors as we walk to the store, school or the office. We may even find that we don't miss our cars and commutes, and the culture they created, nearly as much as we feared we would.

Washington Post

Goodbye 2007 and Hello 2008: Happy New Year

PRESIDENT'S CORNER. By Norris McDonald. It was a very good year. I traveled to China, Brazil and France. It helped to bolster our operation in Homeland China and we opened an office in Hong Kong. Brazil and France opened new doors for us that we hope to expand upon in 2008. We opened a Midwestern Office based in Evansville, Indiana. Hopefully our feet on the ground will give us standing for implementation of the new energy bill.

My son turns 16 on Jan 3. WOW. Time flies. We hope to open an office in Europe in 2008. Of course I prefer the Yuan to the Euro for obvious reasons. God bless America (and the rest of the world too). I hope you have a very Happy New Year. And don't forget to JOIN AAEA. (Picture hand drawn in Beijing, China)

Baseball's Legal Season

Here's an article I wrote in mid-December regarding the various steriod-induced legal battles enveloping our national pastime.

The summation, to spare you the suspense:

At his press conference, Sen. Mitchell spoke at great length about the lessons learned from mediating the Irish troubles. All good points. But in both the Bonds and Mitchell cases, we all must remember another lesson from Northern Ireland: What happens to justice when the basic elements of legal process are missing, such as the ability to examine the evidence against you and confront your accusers.

We'll have plenty of chances to do so in the coming weeks and months, of course, since it's likely neither story is going away any time soon.

What's next? Congressional hearings in mid-January, a possible lawsuit by Roger Clemens, and a possible defamation lawsuit by Clemens' former trainer. Stay tuned, this one's going extra innings...

Obut New Years' greetings

At the end you'll see Rudolph's red nose rolling in ;-)

Obut New Years' greetings

At the end you'll see Rudolph's red nose rolling in ;-)

AFF Invitational

On Dec 8, Stephan of the Stuart petanque group borrowed the Boca 2000 terrain for a first "Amis Francophones de Floride" invitational tournament.
Father & son team Frédéric & Chris with Muriel won the tournament and Jim the 6, 7 & 8 meter shooting contest.
AFF is a group of francophones in S Florida, of various nationalities, presided by the dynamic Anaïde Govaert, whose husband Gui was the extremely popular Belgian Consul for Florida.
A great idea for any organization. Ask a club to borrow their courts and have a party! No better way to get new people involved in the game.

The nice trophy came from Stephan's new 13azero.com store with lots of petanque related goodies.

AFF Invitational

On Dec 8, Stephan of the Stuart petanque group borrowed the Boca 2000 terrain for a first "Amis Francophones de Floride" invitational tournament.
Father & son team Frédéric & Chris with Muriel won the tournament and Jim the 6, 7 & 8 meter shooting contest.
AFF is a group of francophones in S Florida, of various nationalities, presided by the dynamic Anaïde Govaert, whose husband Gui was the extremely popular Belgian Consul for Florida.
A great idea for any organization. Ask a club to borrow their courts and have a party! No better way to get new people involved in the game.

The nice trophy came from Stephan's new 13azero.com store with lots of petanque related goodies.

Lies, damn lies, and statistics

I surf the web, as the expression goes, quite a bit. Not that long ago [Oct. 4, 2007, actually], Amitai Etzioni posted an interesting and significant item in The Huffington Post , and it seemed worth sharing with you now.
"There are three types of lies - lies, damn lies, and statistics." A quote from Mark Twain? Perhaps. You could look it up. In any event, the saying is relevant, and is perhaps as good as Etzioni's own headline, "Small lies, big lies, and the Israel lobby." Of course what he is talking about is as much the "anti-Israel lobby" as the Israel lobby. He's talking about the use - that is, the misuse, the abuse - of information in the service of those who are attacking the bogeyman of the "Israel lobby." He's talking about Mearsheimer and Walt.
Amitai's personal history is worth knowing, by the way. Makes me want to read more.
According to the Wikipedia entry on him, "[h]aving fled to Palestine from Nazi Germany in the 1930s, Etzioni studied with Martin Buber at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 1958 he received his PhD in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, where he completed his degree in the record time of 18 months. He was a professor of sociology at Columbia University for twenty years, serving as chair of the department for part of his time there. He joined the Brookings Institution as a guest scholar in 1978 and then went on to serve as Senior Advisor to the White House on domestic affairs from 1979-1980. In 1980 he was named the first University Professor at The George Washington University, where he currently serves as the director of the Institute for Communitarian Policy Studies." {Never heard of Communitarianism? See here.] Last introductory thought: after reading the item below, take a look at Etzioni's own blog, especially his two follow-ups to the many comments he's received to the item below.
-- Arieh Lebowitz

There are quite a few who have taken for granted the veracity of claims that the Israel lobby is all-powerful on the grounds that a new book making this case has been written by two highly regarded scholars; John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt of the University of Chicago and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, respectively. In fact, the quantitative data they cite amount to (at best) a very thin reed on which to hang such a mighty claim. I will donate my house to anyone who can find a half respectable social science publication that would publish what these two present as evidence.
The authors write:

In 1997, Fortune Magazine asked members of Congress and their staffs to list the most powerful lobbies in Washington. AIPAC was ranked second behind the American Association of Retired People, but ahead of the AFL-CIO and the National Rifle Association. A National Journal study in March of 2005 reached a similar conclusion, placing AIPAC in second place (tied with AARP) in the Washington 'muscle rankings'.

In fact, the Fortune survey was not made of Congress members and their staffs, but of 2,165 "Washington insiders" (chosen by two panels whose membership has not been disclosed), a group that includes an unknown number of congressional members and staffers, among an unknown number of others. More importantly, in both surveys roughly six out of every seven persons asked, i.e., most of those asked, did not respond . The authors' claim that members of Congress and their staffs ranked the Israel lobby higher than many others is based on 15% of those who were surveyed. No respectable social scientist (and many unrespectable ones) would dare to suggest that they have a sense of what any given group holds on the basis of the responses from such a small minority.
Moreover, social science has numerous procedures to correct for such a deficit of responses. One can return to the same group and elicit more answers, draw another sample, or study the differences between those who did and did not respond--and adjust the conclusions accordingly. None of these methods were employed here.
The number of people who responded is so small that an additional vote or two, or a change of mind by one or two respondents, would have significantly altered the results of the survey. The total number of the National Journal responses -- which did survey only law makers -- is 73. (Congress, the last time I checked, had 535 members and at least 17,000 staff members). The National Federation of Independent Business was ranked first and the National Rifle Association second--with nine and eight votes, respectively! In third place, ranked as the most powerful by seven members, was the US Chamber of Commerce. The AARP and AIPAC were each given the nod by five members. The oil companies and the arms manufacturers were not on the list of those to be ranked. I wonder if any student at GWU could get away with a term paper that held that such small numbers support a generalization about any given population or the ranking of a set of groups.
Some will say that all of this is nothing other than typical social science hair splitting. But, these data go to the heart of the matter. Is the Israel lobby just one among a whole slew of lobbies, each pulling Washington its own way? Is it one of the more effective ones? Or can it trump all the others? What the data show is surprisingly little. The book stands much more on accusatory anecdotes than, as the authors' claim, on evidence.

Political Environment & Green Movement In America

Senator Barack Obama has raised more money than any other presidential candidate but will he be elected president of the United States? His race, more so than his politics, will determine his electability. It is unique to American politics but not unique in American politics. The Washington Post cites the phenomenon:

"Less than 4 percent of the nation's elected officials are black, and 90 percent of them represent predominantly black or predominantly black-and-Hispanic constituencies. Thus, not many black politicians have won elections when the majority of voters were white. Only three black U.S. senators and two black governors have been elected since Reconstruction."

Blacks represent 13% of the U.S. population so Senator Obama represents the exception and not the rule in his powerful run for the top political office in the land. Black Americans navigate through a society that challenges them to fully participate while being hostile to their participation. Barack Obama, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, among others, address this paradigm differently. All are relevant and needed.

The environmental movement has far less African American participation at the policy professional position level than the American political environment. There might not be one policy professional working for any traditional environmental group at the moment. If you're out there let us know. Thus the need for an AAEA, among others, to give voice to the reality that virtually every American city has a black side of town and a white side of town. Yet, the African American community is as American as apple pie.

Keep Producing the Banned CFC Asthma Inhalers

ABC 7 News Video On Demand

AAEA calls on President Bush and Congress to repeal the ban on CFC asthma inhalers.

As a signatory to the Montreal Protocol, the USA committed to eliminating asthma inhalers that contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) as a propellant because it destroys atmospheric ozone. Of course it is estimated that such inhalers only contribute around 1 percent to that loss. AAEA opposes elimination of the CFC inhalers, left, because the replacements, Hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) inhalers, right, do not work as well. The propellant does not provide the same power. The taste is different, they are more expensive and a very small amount of ethanol is added to the new inhalers. Ethanol is grain alcohol (moonshine) and we also burn it in our cars.

AAEA supports the National Campaign To Save CFC Asthma Inhalers. The 1987 Montreal Protocol required signatory countries to eliminate CFC use by Jan 1, 2006. An 'Essential Use Exemption' was granted for the space shuttle and asthma inhalers, until Jan 1, 2009, when CFC inhalers are banned for medical use and the new HFA inhalers are scheduled to replace them (FDA final rule 21 CFR 2.125). [Hat Tip: Art Abramson, The National Campaign to Save CFC Asthma Inhalers, 415-753-2122]

ABC News Channel 7 Story featuring AAEA President Norris McDonald

Hugo Chavez, Energy & the American Black Community

Hugo Chavez hates President Bush and is working very hard to become a dictator in Venezuela. Venezuelans recently rebuffed his referendum to gain even more power. It will not stop him. Young people have already started protesting against the abuses of his governance. White and Black American liberals have embraced Chavez as a sort of hero even in the face of his abuses at home. Former congressman Joe Kennedy gets cheap fuel oil from Chavez through Citgo and Danny Glover, Cornell West, Harry Belafonte and British model Naomi Campbell have met privately with him. Well Kennedy got a $100 million fuel oil deal and apparently the others got nothing but lip service. Par for the energy course. America gets about 13% of its oil from Venezuela.

So we have a suggestion for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Sell Citgo to an African American entrepreneur. AAEA can suggest excellent buyers for you. Blacks do not own any energy infrastructure in the United States. The big energy companies simply are not inclined to include African Americans as equity partners. So since it appears that Chavez enjoys goosing America through providing cheaper fuel oil through Joe Kennedy's Citizen's Energy, maybe he would get a bigger kick out of empowering an American minority entrepreneur. Divest now President Chavez. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Boston's $14.8 billion Mausoleum for the Private Auto

Washington Post

After a history marked by engineering triumphs, as well as tunnel leaks, epic traffic jams, last year's death of a motorist crushed by concrete ceiling panels and a price tag that soared from $2.6 billion to a staggering $14.8 billion, there's little appetite for celebration.

- Well that was money well spent. Just imagine how much transit you could have built for the same amount.

Update: Sure it was a rip off, but as Atrios reminds us, it cost less than two months in Iraq.

Boston's $14.8 billion Mausoleum for the Private Auto

Washington Post

After a history marked by engineering triumphs, as well as tunnel leaks, epic traffic jams, last year's death of a motorist crushed by concrete ceiling panels and a price tag that soared from $2.6 billion to a staggering $14.8 billion, there's little appetite for celebration.

- Well that was money well spent. Just imagine how much transit you could have built for the same amount.

Update: Sure it was a rip off, but as Atrios reminds us, it cost less than two months in Iraq.

NY Times: Biased in favor of Israel? Part 2

I’ve decided to respond to Ted via a new posting rather a comment. He has vociferously contested my first entry on this topic, with three comments. I'm sorry that Ted prefers to remain anonymous; he refused my invitation to engage in an e-mail discussion.

The argument that all settlements beyond the Green Line are illegal is a powerful one, which I tend to agree with. But what people like Ted miss is that it is "an argument" (and there are counter-arguments, even if he and I don't buy them).

The application of all law, from the issuing of a ticket for jay walking to applying the 4th Geneva Convention, is subject to political decisions and the discretion of the pertinent legal and law enforcement authorities. International law (especially dealing as it does with sovereign states) is, of necessity, even more subject to politics and discretion than local and national laws.

I certainly don't think it would be wrong for the NY Times to make more references to the 4th Geneva Convention than it does; I wish it made more references to the Geneva Accord/Initiative (and to the Meretz party for that matter), both of which Ted disdains. But to denounce the NY Times for not echoing our exact views is to confuse a general newspaper with a partisan publication.

Re Ted's crack about Meretz, the Geneva Initiative and the settlement blocs: Meretz is not in love with the settlement blocs (where most West Bank settlers reside within a few kilometers of the old 1967 boundaries), but unlike Ted, Meretz is trying to actually end the conflict rather than prove itself to be absolutely right (or "left"). Aside from their illegality and everything else, for Israel to remove all the settlements and all 400,000+ settlers (counting not only those in the West Bank, but the 150,000 or so who inhabit the newer neighborhoods of Jerusalem built in formerly Jordanian territory) would likely be both politically and physically impossible. It took 50,000 IDF soldiers to remove 8,000 settlers in Gaza, along with their 7,000 rowdy supporters. Do the math: Israel does not have the half million to 1.5 million soldiers required to remove them all, nor would it be able to command the soldiers to do so (if it had such numbers) without risking civil war.

But the Palestinian Authority isn't even suggesting that neighborhoods like East Talpiot be abandoned. It is rightfully complaining about plans to expand Har Homa or Maaleh Adumim.

The value of the Geneva Initiative is that it provides a model for a mutual agreement that carefully balances the needs and rights of both sides. It is not about one side dictating terms to the other. It offers hope that the two sides can withdraw from their most hardened positions— enough to permit a new reality to take hold. But it’s not a magic bullet and it won’t be easy. It disturbs me but is not surprising that an absolutist, like Ted, would have difficulty with something like Geneva, which is all about compromise.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

PRESIDENT'S CORNER. By Norris McDonald. What does Christmas mean to you? Maybe for an atheist it means the end of the fourth quarter and hopes for our capitalist system to get needed stimulation. Maybe for a pagan it is sorrow for the disturbance of the many Christmas trees. Maybe for the Christian it is the recognition of the birth of Jesus Christ (even though the date is not right). Maybe for the Muslim it is an interesting festival time. Maybe for the Buddhist it is being one with the snowflake or the falling leaf. Maybe for the Hebrew it means still waiting. Maybe for the Hindu it means nothing at all. Ah but for the four year old, it clearly means Santa Claus, Christmas trees and presents.

I tease my 15 year old son now about the great entertainment it provided for me to see his excitement about Santa. The milk and cookies gone in the morning that Santa drank and ate. My son (5 yrs old at the time-1997) is sitting on the lap of Walter Tibbs at the Frederick Douglass house in Highland Beach south of Annapolis, Maryland in the upper left picture. He was first in line and asserted his good behavior and belief that he deserved an X-Man action figure. Ah Christmas. Rest, relaxation and a good time for reflection.

National Harbor Gaylord Resort & Convention Center

AAEA was the only environmental group of any kind to support the National Harbor-based Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center during the planning and approval phases for the site and facility. Not that this will ever be publicized mind you except by us because it happens for our good work most of the time. But AAEA does not allow such 'publicity avoidance' to stop us from continuing to do good work. Here is what The Washington Post said about the project today:

"With an 18-story atrium towering over the banks of the Potomac, Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center is reshaping the skyline of Prince George's County. Now the hotel and meeting place, the largest to be built on the Eastern Seaboard, is set to transform the economic terrain of the county, which has struggled for years to lure major employers. Gaylord posted more than 2,000 jobs on its Web site recently."

Prince George's County is the richest majority African American county in the United States and the developers appear to be working in good faith to include minority equity, management participation and employment in this historic project. Although many folk from the majority will groan at describing 'minority participation,' this group is purposely excluded in so many areas (and believe us we know) that it should be publicized when an operation does the right thing. And in that regard, talk to anyone in Prince George's County and they will tell you that project developer Milt Perterson has always tried his best to do the right thing. This county appreciates Mr. Peterson's interest in an area of the region that has been avoided by other developers. Thank you.

Gordon R. Lewis on the Meaning of Infallibility

The following article is now on-line in PDF:

Gordon R. Lewis, "What Does Biblical Infallibility Mean?" Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society 6.1 (Winter 1963): 18-27.

This article explores a means of understanding and communicating the significance of Biblical infallibility and concludes:

(1) Although there is a clear distinction today between meaning and sentences, inspiration may be viewed as implying neither merely conceptual or merely verbal supervision on the part of the Holy Spirit. Inspiration in this realm of discourse applies to both content and wording, meanings and sentences.

(2) “Inerrancy” may be used most clearly for meanings which are cognitively taught by those with delegated authority as spokesmen for God, and for non-cogni­tive meanings relating to the speakers themselves.

(3) “Infallibility” most helpfully designates the verbal media of the Scriptures as effective communicators of the Spirit-intended meaning through the Biblical writings.

(4) All that is written in Scripture is infallible. All that Scripture teaches cogni­tively is objectively true. All that Scripture teaches non-cognitively is subjectively true, i.e. true of the one whose idea is expressed. This then is a plenary view of verbal inspiration; all sentences are infallible, and all meanings are inerrant for their respective purposes.

Making Hamas look ‘moderate’?

Sad news from Israel is encapsulated in a headline from today’s (Dec. 24) NY Times : "Israel Rejects Hamas Overture, and Presses Housing Construction." Prime Minister Olmert has rebuffed a Hamas proposal for a cease-fire, that had been under consideration and was supported by some in Olmert’s cabinet.

Israel’s military has been on a roll of late, successfully attacking terrorists in Gaza, especially leading elements of Islamic Jihad. This is in line with Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense and a reaction to the ongoing threat of rocket attack; approximately 2,000 have struck Israel in 2007, intending with some success to disrupt everyday life and inflict casualties and property damage on civilians. But a legitimate question is when and how to recognize Israel’s triumph in striking back. Shouldn’t the desired end result be that of Hamas crying "uncle" and for Israel to at least fully investigate the sincerity and practicality of implementing such a cease-fire?

Hope totters somewhere between slim and none in Defense Minister Barak’s reported suggestion that "if Hamas successfully stopped the rocket fire, Israel might reciprocate. Mr. Barak was quoted by the Israeli news media as telling the cabinet, ‘If they stop firing, we won’t be opposed to quiet.’ "

The same article reported an unhelpful response from Hamas that "The Palestinian people have a right to continue resistance."

This Times article also reported that "a Housing and Construction Ministry budget proposal for 2008 included plans to build 500 apartments in Har Homa, a Jewish development in a hotly disputed part of East Jerusalem, and 240 apartments in Maale Adumim, the largest Jewish settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. ..."

The government spokesman, Mark Regev, then denied that these were imminent plans, but shouldn’t it be obvious by now that a halt to settlement expansion is essential to pushing forward to a peace agreement? This builds trust for Israel among Palestinians and helps moderate Palestinians politically in mustering support for a negotiated peace with Israel.

The bad news jives with MJ Rosenberg’s latest column from the Israel Policy Forum, bemoaning Israel’s pattern of not seizing every opportunity for peace, along with that of Arab parties (famously stated by Israel’s great orator-diplomat, Abba Eban– at Arab expense only– as "never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity").

To all our friends

Turn up your speakers, sit back and relax, then click on the door and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

To all our friends

Turn up your speakers, sit back and relax, then click on the door and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Nuclear Power Gets Loan Guarantees

The FY 2008 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, contained within the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill (H.R. 2764) continues the Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program for two more years. The bill contains language directing the Secretary of Energy to provide $38.5 billion in loan guarantees, with a specific requirement that $20.5 billion be provided for nuclear energy, ($18.5 billion for nuclear reactors, $2 billion for uranium enrichment), $10 billion for renewable energy and energy efficiency, $8 billion for clean coal technology.

It is being projected that new nuclear plants will cost as much as $4 billion and will take at least 7 years to construct. The first six plants are being heavily subsidized by the federal government to assure a renaissance of new nuclear power plant construction. The loan guarantees are a very important component of the federal support. Nuclear companies are forming consortia and aggressively competing with each other for these subsidies. Front end construction and operation success will pave the way for the hundreds of nuclear power plants America needs to provide reliable electricity. Will African Americans have a role in this nuclear renaissance?

Top Ten Metro Areas for Best Walkable Urban Lifestyle Released

Walkable urbanism is spreading beyond the boundaries of inner cities and into the suburbs as Gen Xers and empty nesters search for communities offering a walkable lifestyle, according to the book The Option of Urbanism: Investing in a New American Dream.

Top 10 Metro Areas For Best Walkable Communities
1. Washington, DC
2. Boston, MA
3. San Francisco, CA
4. Denver, CO
5. Portland, OR
6. Seattle, WA
7. Chicago, IL
8. Miami, FL
9. Pittsburgh, PA
10. New York, NY

Top Ten Metro Areas for Best Walkable Urban Lifestyle Released

Walkable urbanism is spreading beyond the boundaries of inner cities and into the suburbs as Gen Xers and empty nesters search for communities offering a walkable lifestyle, according to the book The Option of Urbanism: Investing in a New American Dream.

Top 10 Metro Areas For Best Walkable Communities
1. Washington, DC
2. Boston, MA
3. San Francisco, CA
4. Denver, CO
5. Portland, OR
6. Seattle, WA
7. Chicago, IL
8. Miami, FL
9. Pittsburgh, PA
10. New York, NY

Advanced Search Reporting Launched on Google Enterprise labs

Posted by Cyrus Mistry, Enterprise Product Manager

So you have your shiny blue or yellow box up and running and life is good. As the searches keep coming, you begin to wonder.... How many of my users are clicking on the first search result? How many refine their search? How many use the Advanced search capabilities? How many click on a KeyMatch? How many have to click the Next page link? How many aren't finding what they want?

Now you can answer these and hundreds of other questions with the introduction of Advanced Search Reporting for your Google Mini or Google Search Appliance. Through a detailed analysis of what your users are clicking, you can now extract volumes of rich behavior detail that you can use to improve your search quality and their search experience.

For example, you might learn:


Owners of a Google Mini or Google Search Appliance can visit Google Enterprise Labs to download this feature today!

The High Cost of Free Parking

Explained with toy cars.

Another winner from StreetFilms.

The High Cost of Free Parking

Explained with toy cars.

Another winner from StreetFilms.

The Collapse of the American Suburb: Tent Cities Emerge

Between railroad tracks and beneath the roar of departing planes sits "tent city," a terminus for homeless people. It is not, as might be expected, in a blighted city center, but in the once-booming suburbia of Southern California.

AP

The Collapse of the American Suburb: Tent Cities Emerge

Between railroad tracks and beneath the roar of departing planes sits "tent city," a terminus for homeless people. It is not, as might be expected, in a blighted city center, but in the once-booming suburbia of Southern California.

AP

Courts Support Global Warming Mitigation

In a Dec 12, 2007 ruling, Federal District Court Judge Anthony Ishii rejected the auto industry's claim that federal fuel economy standards preempted the authority of California and other states to limit global warming pollution from automobiles. Of course, passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act (H.R. 6) of 2007 on Dec 18, 2007 moved EPA to reject California's waiver request to use fuel economy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles to mitigate global warming.

On Sept 12, 2007 a federal judge in Vermont ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has an obligation to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 2, 2007 in Massachusetts vs Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the agency does have the authority to regulate carbon dioxide as a criteria pollutant under the Clean Air Act. More specifically, the court to ruled 5 to 4 that the EPA violated the Clean Air Act by improperly declining to regulate new-vehicle emissions standards to control carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming. Background: when groups in Massachusetts petitioned the EPA to set standards for greenhouse gas emissions for new vehicles EPA declined in 2003 citing "numerous areas of scientific uncertainty" about the causes and effects of global warming. Massachusetts, along with other states and cities, took the agency to court.

The U.S. Supreme Court also unanimously ruled on April 2, 2007 in Environmental Defense vs Duke Energy Corporation that industrial smokestacks and power plants must meet the Clean Air Act's New Source Review program (NSR), which requires that when large industrial facilities, such as power plants, refineries and chemical plants, expand operations and increase air pollution, they must also modernize air pollution controls.

Detroit and the White House: Hella Earth Haters!

The Bush administration’s decision to deny California permission to regulate and reduce global warming emissions from cars and trucks is an indefensible act of executive arrogance that can only be explained as the product of ideological blindness and as a political payoff to the automobile industry.

NYT

Detroit and the White House: Hella Earth Haters!

The Bush administration’s decision to deny California permission to regulate and reduce global warming emissions from cars and trucks is an indefensible act of executive arrogance that can only be explained as the product of ideological blindness and as a political payoff to the automobile industry.

NYT

Yossi Beilin steps down as Meretz leader

With the announcement by Yossi Beilin, Dec. 16, that he will not run for reelection (March 18, 2008) as Meretz party chair, Meretz USA and others are just beginning to digest the news. Readers may link to our Website for a Meretz USA statement of tribute and a letter from Beilin discussing his decision. In the meantime, Daniel Levy, a close associate of Beilin since having worked together on the Geneva Initiative, writes in his blog about his "mentor":

The Return of Yossi Beilin the Statesman?

One of my political mentors, someone I worked with in and out of the government in Israel, and a friend, Yossi Beilin, announced yesterday that he was standing down as leader of the Meretz party and withdrawing from the party leadership election to be held in March. Beilin explained that he would be supporting Haim Oron, known to everyone as Jumas, in the leadership race (against two other Meretz MKs: Ran Cohen and Zehava Gal’on).

"The ideological closeness and friendship with Jumas [Oron] dictated that I not run against him. I have had a principle for many years. I will not run against a comrade in my political path," said Beilin. Most of the commentary has pointed out that Beilin did not look to be in a strong position in the leadership race, had not captured the hearts of his new Meretz party colleagues, and was unlikely to increase the party’s Knesset representation. ...

There was very little time for Beilin, the daring statesman–brilliant, creative, and farsighted. One used to frequently hear the refrain that "What Beilin is planning today, Israel will be doing in 5 to 10 years," for too long that quotation has been gathering dust. In his Foreign Ministry days Beilin led the belated effort to have Israel sever its close relationship with apartheid South Africa and pushed for the establishment of a governmental department to coordinate overseas development assistance.

Beilin is of course remembered for initiating the back-channel dialogue that was later adopted by Itzhak Rabin and became the Oslo Declaration of Principles, and for championing the withdrawal from Lebanon that was eventually embraced by Ehud Barak and implemented in 2000. Other Beilin projects have not yet been realized to the detriment of the Israel he has spent all his life working for, and the region which he understands we need to be a part of. These plans include the Beilin-Abu Mazen Agreement and The Geneva Initiative, both of which I had the honor to work with Yossi on, and are well worth revisiting.

Often forgotten is that Beilin has also intensely involved himself with the subject of Israel’s relationship with the Jewish diaspora and, prolific author that he is, Yossi even wrote a book on this subject, "His Brother’s Keeper." The now well-established Taglit or Birthright program, so beloved to Jewish communities and the establishment, was originally the brainchild of guess who? YB.

Hopefully, the removal of constraints of party leadership will re-release the tireless thinker and unstoppable private statesman in Yossi Beilin. Beilin himself stated in his resignation announcement that "I will now invest more than I have in the last four years in the peace process. I have never hidden the fact that there is nothing more urgent in my eyes than grasping the opportunity for peace. I now feel a particular sense of urgency." In a recent Washington Post op-ed, Beilin pressed the need for a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip, a move that may have been a harbinger of the kind of efforts Beilin will now pursue. ...

As for Jumas, a colleague from the Geneva Initiative, a wonderful man and someone basically unknown in the US, more on him in a future post. One may read Levy’s entire posting online.

Media Should Be Careful With Nuclear Reporting

The Washington Post published an article, "A Nuclear Site Is Breached," that made it sound like a commercial nuclear power plant in Africa was successfully breached by attackers. The article should have distinguished between a commercial nuclear power plant (only one on the continent of Africa) and a nuclear research facility. The distinction is very important because the article referred to "a site where hundreds of kilograms of weapons-grade uranium are stored." Such uranium is not at any commercial nuclear power plants. The attack at the research center was not successful and would have completely failed at any highly secured commercial nuclear power plant. AAEA would like to see many more nuclear power plants constructed in many different African countries and confusing articles will not make the job any easier.

The article should have taken the time to distinguish between Pelindaba Nuclear Research Center, left, where the attack occurred, and Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, right, which is the commercial nuclear power plant and the only one on the entire continent. Pelindaba is a research facility and Koeberg is a commercial nuclear power plant. The Pelindaba Center is located at Pelindaba near Hartbeespoort Dam approximately 30-35 km West of Pretoria( Northern South Africa inland). Koeberg is approximately 30km northwest of Cape Town, close to Melkbosstrand (Southern South Africa on the coast). The article described a 'successful' attack that posed a danger for constructing a dirty bomb. Hopefully, such reporting in the future will provide distinguishing descriptions of the facilites so that the public will not be unnecessarily frightened and prejudiced against this beneficial technology. With public acceptance African countries could prosper from the benefits of nuclear power and mitigate the problems of global warming and climate change.

John W. Montgomery on Paul's Use of Genesis in Romans

The following article is now available in PDF:

John W. Montgomery, "Some Comments on Paul's Use of Genesis in His Epistle to the Romans," Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society 4.1 (April 1961): 4-11.

Montgomery strongly defends the historicity of Adam. For more on the use of the OT in Romans see:

L.C. Allen, "The Old Testament in Romans I-VIII," Vox Evangelica 3 (1964): 6-41.

EPA Denies California Global Warming Waiver Request

On the same day that President Bush signed the energy bill (H.R. 6), EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, right, denied California's request to limit its own global warming gases from cars and trucks. Johnson concluded that the new energy law obviates the need for the equivalent of fuel economy standards in California because it requires a comparable 35 mpg nationwide requirement. We agree with President Bush and EPA on this issue. A nationwide fuel economy standard is much better than a patchwork of standards by each state patterned after the California law (A.B. 1493) and the Northeastern states (Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative-RGGI).

Now we need an international climate change agreement patterned after the Asia Pacific Partnership and American legislation establishing a cap and trade program (no auction) for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. America should adopt new technological developments to lead the world in greenhouse gas reduction and energy productivity, including: solar, wind, efficiency, conservation, natural gas, clean coal, and nuclear. (Wash Post)

J. Barton Payne on Theistic Evolution and the Hebrew of Genesis 1-2

The following article is now on-line in PDF:

J. Barton Payne, "Theistic Evolution and the Hebrew of Genesis 1-2," Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society 8.2 (1965): 85-90.

J. Barton Payne assesses the evidence in Genesis for theistic evolution in Genesis and finds it lacking.

John Rea on the Time of the Oppression and the Exodus

The following article is now on-line in PDF:

John Rea, "The Time of the Oppression and the Exodus," Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society 3.3 (Summer 1960): 58-66.

John Rea sets out the evidence for a 15th Century Exodus.

Fixing Pittsburgh

Transportation Key to World-Class Pittsburgh, by Chip Walter

...Public transit is among the essential vitamins and minerals of healthy urban centers. Without an ability to move lots of people of every stripe all around fast and efficiently great cities cannot be great. I’m thinking of Paris, Chicago, London, New York, Boston. They need their trolleys and subways, metros and tubes or they would atrophy, and their citizens would shrivel up too. For people of all kinds to flourish in any city, they have to be mobile. Mobility is power.

Fixing Pittsburgh

Transportation Key to World-Class Pittsburgh, by Chip Walter

...Public transit is among the essential vitamins and minerals of healthy urban centers. Without an ability to move lots of people of every stripe all around fast and efficiently great cities cannot be great. I’m thinking of Paris, Chicago, London, New York, Boston. They need their trolleys and subways, metros and tubes or they would atrophy, and their citizens would shrivel up too. For people of all kinds to flourish in any city, they have to be mobile. Mobility is power.

Google Maps and Public Safety

Posted by Dan Israel, Google Enterprise, Government Products

I recently reviewed an interesting case study about CrimeReports.com, a website that makes crime data from local law enforcement agencies available on the internet using Google Maps. CrimeReports.com is a partnership between a company called Public Engines and local police departments across the country -- from San Jose, CA to Washington, DC. These police departments wanted to make information about neighborhood safety directly available to the public, but did not have the resources to set this up themselves. Enter Public Engines, who built a service using the Google Maps API they are making available at a low cost to any interested police department.

In the past, local crime information could be difficult for citizens to find -- they could read police blotters in local newspapers or watch the evening news -- but it wasn't easy to see historical data or understand trends. By providing the data in a rich, visual interface, plus letting citizens get alerts if something new happens in their neighborhood -- CrimeReports.com makes information accessible to citizens in a much more useful way. If want to learn more, read the full case study.

The advent of new Internet technologies like blogs, wikis, & RSS makes it easier than ever for government to share information directly with the citizens they serve, without the need for any intermediaries. This sort of direct communication can be extremely valuable in letting citizens know what government officials are doing in their community. We're always on the look-out for other good examples of this; if you know of any, please share.

Homemade Jucy Lucy

I tried, and failed, to make a Jucy Lucy at home today. For the experiment I had accumulated the essentials: the patty press, the yellow American cheese, and 85/15 chuck fresh from the butcher. I once again have great respect for those brave griddlepersons at places like the 5-8 Club and Matt's Bar in Minneapolis, MN, who in a day can crank out hundreds of perfect, cheese stuffed, beauties. The Jucy Lucy is a food phenomenon that is virtually unknown and unavailable outside of the Twin Cities. Two thin patties of fresh beef are pinched together with a folded slice of American cheese tucked inside. As the burger cooks, the cheese melts resulting in the ultimate food-science project. Bite into your Jucy Lucy too soon and pay the price - hot, molten cheese will squirt in every direction and scald your face, lap, and mouth. In my attempt at home the first pass was working until I bit into my burger. Despite the tiny trickle of cheese oozing out there was no molten cheese core and the center was still cold and unmelted. Lesson learned: the griddle was too hot. I needed to erase the standard cooking method of 'hot pan-sear-medium rare' and cook the second attempt much slower and lower. Round 2 ended up a total failure when the burger burst and sent most of the yellow cheese into the pan. I continued to cook and accidentally overcooked the burger. Without the cheese inside most of the moisture had dissipated. Leave it to the brave experts and get your Jucy Lucys at Matt's, 5-8, or just about any other reputable burger counter in Minneapolis.

Homemade Jucy Lucy

I tried, and failed, to make a Jucy Lucy at home today. For the experiment I had accumulated the essentials: the patty press, the yellow American cheese, and 85/15 chuck fresh from the butcher. I once again have great respect for those brave griddlepersons at places like the 5-8 Club and Matt's Bar in Minneapolis, MN, who in a day can crank out hundreds of perfect, cheese stuffed, beauties. The Jucy Lucy is a food phenomenon that is virtually unknown and unavailable outside of the Twin Cities. Two thin patties of fresh beef are pinched together with a folded slice of American cheese tucked inside. As the burger cooks, the cheese melts resulting in the ultimate food-science project. Bite into your Jucy Lucy too soon and pay the price - hot, molten cheese will squirt in every direction and scald your face, lap, and mouth. In my attempt at home the first pass was working until I bit into my burger. Despite the tiny trickle of cheese oozing out there was no molten cheese core and the center was still cold and unmelted. Lesson learned: the griddle was too hot. I needed to erase the standard cooking method of 'hot pan-sear-medium rare' and cook the second attempt much slower and lower. Round 2 ended up a total failure when the burger burst and sent most of the yellow cheese into the pan. I continued to cook and accidentally overcooked the burger. Without the cheese inside most of the moisture had dissipated. Leave it to the brave experts and get your Jucy Lucys at Matt's, 5-8, or just about any other reputable burger counter in Minneapolis.

NY Times: Biased in favor of Israel?

On Tuesday, Dec. 11, I attended a debate at the Alwan Middle East (basically Arab) arts center in downtown Manhattan, about how the New York Times covers the Israeli-Arab conflict. Sponsored by the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association, it pitted Howard Friel (the co-author of two books published by Verso, which argues a far left-wing critique of how the NY Times "misrepresents" US foreign policy) against Ethan Bronner, deputy foreign editor for the Times and designated to be its Jerusalem bureau chief in the spring.

Despite the heavily pro-Arab leanings of the audience, Bronner defended the Times quite ably. Basically Friel argued that the Times doesn’t use the only fair objective criteria for covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which would be the standard of international law. To Friel, the be all and end all of the issue is that Israel violates international law (specifically, Article 49 [paragraph 6] of the Fourth Geneva Convention) by the building of settlements and other structures (such as the security barrier) on occupied Arab lands in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. Bronner does not dispute this and cited frequent editorials and articles in the Times that criticize Jewish settlement activity in these areas.

But Friel expects a certain ideological purity and political engagement that would not be suitable for a general newspaper. I've always found the NY Times imperfect but fair-minded and well-intended in its coverage, which is why it's subject to such strident and emotional attacks from extremes on both sides.

Friel was arguing the conflict instead of looking at what is proper journalism. Like Bronner and Friel, I too believe that settlements are illegal under international law, but articles become dry repetitive propaganda if they constantly repeat this refrain instead of covering real news as Bronner surveyed from examples of recent NY Times coverage.

Friel also knows nothing about the Israeli government. He evidently has no idea that the weak coalition framework that defines Israel's proportional representation system produces governments in which ministers are free to spout errant nonsense that has nothing to do with actual government policy. Hence Lieberman has views that are generally deplorable, but he has in fact also endorsed a two-state solution, including the incorporation of Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem into a Palestinian state. He may be too fond of the perks of power as a minister to oppose an agreement.

And, contrary to Friel’s assertion (and a further example of his arguing about the conflict instead of journalism), Israel has not rejected the Arab League/Saudi peace plan; that's what's on the table in the negotiations inaugurated at Annapolis. In fact, sources close to us say that a Geneva-style agreement is in the offing, if only Olmert and Abbas would have the political courage to follow through. Click for Part 2.

Sweden Beats its Kyoto Targets

Sweden reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by almost nine percent from 1990 to 2006, largely exceeding the target set by the Kyoto Protocol, the Swedish environment ministry said on Tuesday.

AFP

Sweden Beats its Kyoto Targets

Sweden reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by almost nine percent from 1990 to 2006, largely exceeding the target set by the Kyoto Protocol, the Swedish environment ministry said on Tuesday.

AFP

Congress Passes Final Energy Bill

The House passed the final version of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 today (Dec 18) by a vote of 314 to 100. The Senate passed the revised energy bill 86 to 8 on Dec 13. It now goes to the president for his signature.

President Bush will sign his second energy bill (H.R. 6) and will thus lead America into a new age of automobile efficiency. Raising vehicle fuel economy standards is a great achievement that eluded other presidents and congresses since the passage of the original mileage law (Energy Policy Conservation Act of 1975). President Bush signed his first energy bill, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. AAEA atttended the signing of that historic legislation.

Key provisions of the bill include: Autobile fuel efficiency stardard of 35 miles a gallon by 2020, Renewable fuel ethanol use increased to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022, Green Jobs training for 35,000 people every year, Increases the efficiency of buildings and appliances and eliminates incandescent light bulbs by 2015, among others. The new law also goes far in helping to fulfill the goals of the California global warming law and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Iniative (RGGI) of the Northern states.

Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Enrolled as Agreed to or Passed by Both House and Senate)[H.R.6.ENR]

EU: Fine Automakers Dragging Feet on CO2 Reductions

"The European Commission is considering phasing in fees it charges to carmakers who fail to meet ambitious targets to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2012, a European Union source said on Monday."

Reuters

As usual, the EU is taking the lead against global warming.

EU: Fine Automakers Dragging Feet on CO2 Reductions

"The European Commission is considering phasing in fees it charges to carmakers who fail to meet ambitious targets to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2012, a European Union source said on Monday."

Reuters

As usual, the EU is taking the lead against global warming.

Ministerial advice on Man Utd takeover reports should be released

ICO press release 13 Dec 2007

"The Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, has ruled under the Freedom of Information Act that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) must release documents relating to the takeover of Manchester United Football Club.

The ruling follows a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) by a member of the public who wrote to the DCMS requesting copies of all documents, minutes and emails relating to the takeover of Manchester United FC by Malcolm Glazier's company, Red Football Ltd.
...
In his decision, the Information Commissioner took the view that the timing of the request was important and the request was made after the policy formulation and development process had effectively ended. In addition, the Information Commissioner noted that the disclosure of advice given by government officials in this case would not inhibit government officials from giving frank advice. Weighing up the arguments, the Commissioner found that the public interest favoured disclosure of the information."

Full press release (Pdf)

Decision notice fs_50121684 (Pdf)

Walking makes you healthy and sexy

A brisk 30-minute walk 6 days a week is enough to trim waistlines and cut the risk of metabolic syndrome -- an increasingly common condition that is linked to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle, a new study indicates.

Reuters

Walking makes you healthy and sexy

A brisk 30-minute walk 6 days a week is enough to trim waistlines and cut the risk of metabolic syndrome -- an increasingly common condition that is linked to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle, a new study indicates.

Reuters

Where is Chris Russell from brgr?

I stopped into one of my favorite NYC burger counters today, brgr on 7th Ave across from F.I.T.. I've known for some time now that Chris Russell, the brains behind this high-quality burger spot, is gone. "He was fired," a girl at the register told me flippantly. When I asked her where he went her response was, "I don't know, but if you find him, tell him we miss him." I don't really care about the details of his departure or the corporate suits that tossed him out. I am curious however about his next move because you know he's dreaming up something good. His attention to detail at brgr was incredible - from the Ronnybrook Farms milk for the shakes to the fresh (never frozen) naturally raised beef patties from Montana cattle. It would be a waste if he did nothing. Cross your fingers and hope for another burger venture.

Where is Chris Russell from brgr?

I stopped into one of my favorite NYC burger counters today, brgr on 7th Ave across from F.I.T.. I've known for some time now that Chris Russell, the brains behind this high-quality burger spot, is gone. "He was fired," a girl at the register told me flippantly. When I asked her where he went her response was, "I don't know, but if you find him, tell him we miss him." I don't really care about the details of his departure or the corporate suits that tossed him out. I am curious however about his next move because you know he's dreaming up something good. His attention to detail at brgr was incredible - from the Ronnybrook Farms milk for the shakes to the fresh (never frozen) naturally raised beef patties from Montana cattle. It would be a waste if he did nothing. Cross your fingers and hope for another burger venture.

The Bible in the Eighties - Four Articles from Christian Brethren Review

Volumes 31 & 32 of the Christian Brethren Review is a collection of articles on the interpretation of the Bible in the 1980's. I have selected the articles written by authors with whom I am familiar - the one by F.F. Bruce has been posted separately. Others may be added later. My thanks to Partnership for their kind permission.

David J.A. Clines, "Biblical Hermeneutics in Theory and Practice," Christian Brethren Review 31, 32 (1982): 65-76.

Walter L. Liefeld, "Unity and Diversity in the Two Testaments," Christian Brethren Review 31, 32 (1982): 83-94.

John W. Baigent, "Bible Study - Methods and Means," Christian Brethren Review 31, 32 (1982): 123-136.

John Goldingay, "Interpreting the Bible," Christian Brethren Review 31, 32 (1982): 145-148.

F.F. Bruce on the Meaning of the Bible

The following article is now available in PDF:

F.F. Bruce, "What Does it [the Bible] Mean?" Christian Brethren Review 31, 32 (1982): 41-52.

FFB gives a brief but pithy introduction to biblical hermeneutics.

The Dying Core of Suburban America - Strip Malls

One of the saddest elements of living in a car-dependent suburb or exurb is that everything you need requres getting in a car. Whether it's a loaf of bread or gallon of milk. For the last 50 years this has meant a short drive to the regional grocery store or strip mall.

But with the crash of the suburban economy, we are now seeing the regional shops close at an alarming rate, some new spaces never get tenants at all. Will suburbanites soon be forced to drive back into the city just to get some groceries?

What a strange turn of events since the White-flight to the suburbs that began in the 1950s.

Sacramento Real Estate Statistics

Kunstler's take on this new trend...

The American public has no idea how over all that is. The bottom is falling out under not only the housing market (as in houses up for sale) but on the whole apparatus for delivering future houses, and the car-oriented crap associated with it. The production home-builders, such as Toll Brothers, Hovanian, Pulte, et cetera are going down and they will not be coming back. There will be a great deal of wishing that they might come back, but they won't. Likewise, the commercial builders of all the various forms of suburban retail will be waiting to "turn the corner." But they will discover that the wall they have hit has no corner. It's just a wall.

Peak Oil

NYT on the coming construction loan crash.

The Dying Core of Suburban America - Strip Malls

One of the saddest elements of living in a car-dependent suburb or exurb is that everything you need requres getting in a car. Whether it's a loaf of bread or gallon of milk. For the last 50 years this has meant a short drive to the regional grocery store or strip mall.

But with the crash of the suburban economy, we are now seeing the regional shops close at an alarming rate, some new spaces never get tenants at all. Will suburbanites soon be forced to drive back into the city just to get some groceries?

What a strange turn of events since the White-flight to the suburbs that began in the 1950s.

Sacramento Real Estate Statistics

Kunstler's take on this new trend...

The American public has no idea how over all that is. The bottom is falling out under not only the housing market (as in houses up for sale) but on the whole apparatus for delivering future houses, and the car-oriented crap associated with it. The production home-builders, such as Toll Brothers, Hovanian, Pulte, et cetera are going down and they will not be coming back. There will be a great deal of wishing that they might come back, but they won't. Likewise, the commercial builders of all the various forms of suburban retail will be waiting to "turn the corner." But they will discover that the wall they have hit has no corner. It's just a wall.

Peak Oil

NYT on the coming construction loan crash.

Anguish in the shadow of Zion

The article below illustrates the anguish of many American Jews whose support of Israel has been based on what the author calls "the unquestioned narrative about Israel's righteousness, its humane practices, and the moral high ground upon which its policies are based," and who are rudely confronted with the reality of the occupation of the West Bank, its impact on Palestinians, as well as on Israelis.

For some, this dichotomy is something new and very alarming. For others -- including most of the people associated with Meretz USA and its predecessor organizations -- our narrative has for decades been more complex, our opposition to and understanding of the ongoing human toll of the continued occupation is nothing new.

I'm sharing this article in the hopes that it will help underscore the importance of a critical Zionism, rather than an unquestioning one, in which the values that we bring to bear on the rest of the world also are brought to bear on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and should shape - not destroy - our commitment to a peaceful, democratic, Jewish state of Israel.

It is perhaps ironic that I "discovered" the article below on the website of Indian Muslims, "Indian Muslim News and Information," based in Jupiter, Florida. It originally was written for and appeared in the Common Ground News Service website, and also on the Network of Spiritual Progressives website. The author sounds like she should become involved with Meretz USA -- but she seems quite busy as it is!

In the shadow of Zion by Rabbi Tirzah Firestone Dec. 13, 2007

This past year I have had to face the underbelly of my love of Zion. Like so many American Jews, I had been raised with the unquestioned narrative about Israel's righteousness, its humane practices, and the moral high ground upon which its policies are based. The painful deconstruction of these beliefs began with a journey through the Occupied Territories, where I encountered the shocking effects of my people's fear.

I saw a land sliced by concrete and barbed wire, a snaking wall 450 miles long. Yes, there has been good reason for fear—genuine security threats that have come through the gates and checkpoints. Nevertheless, I found myself questioning the holding back of women in labor, children in need of emergency blood transfusions. I heard stories, not only from Arabs, but from Israeli soldiers who struggled to "carry out orders" while innocent women and children died before their eyes.

In Judaism, saving and defending life trumps almost all else. But does this only apply to Jewish life? I found myself wondering how this ethic measures up against the negative effects of the wall—the many Arab villages lacking potable water, farmers denied access to their land, the uprooted olive orchards and confiscated fields…Could this possibly be within the moral code of our people?

Most American Jews visit Israel, see the wall, stop and say: Whew, glad that's there! We are told the wall keeps us safe from terrorists. The reality of that safety is unquestionable. But few people ask: What's on the other side? What we Jews see from the super highways is quite lovely in places—decorative panels of wood and brass. But on the other side lies the shadow of Zion: cement and razor wire; graffiti-art (a majestic dove caught in barbed wire, a horned, ghoulish Statue of Liberty, women crying); words that made my eyes stream: "Don't they remember the Warsaw Ghetto?" "We are not all terrorists!" and closer to the settlements, "Death to the Arabs."

This wall was prompted by cumulative terror, by possible explosions at any bus stop or café, by the horror of people like you and me, on their way to work or having dinner with their family, being blown up. Yes, suicide bombings have significantly lessened since this wall was built. Yet it seemed clear, as I went daily from the territories into Israel, that many Israelis know little or nothing of the humiliation, loss of morale, and loss of life that occurs behind the wall. It is understandable that our brothers and sisters in Israel want to get on with normal life, and they need security to do so. But how can this situation really produce long-term security?

Traveling through this territory, seeing these things, I found myself whispering over and over: What is happening to us? How did we get here? Once we were victims, now we are seen in the world as the aggressor, the oppressor who bulldozes orchards, dictates lives, and spells ruin for others. God forbid this be the new image of Jew! God forbid this be our new narrative!
I was brought to the edge of my faith witnessing this formidable challenge to our ethics. While genuine mortal threats must be taken seriously, we must confront another, more insidious enemy that comes from within. It lurks in our blind spot, and for this reason is more dangerous to our security than any outer enemy. That enemy is our fear, and we are in danger of being held hostage by it.

Like our ethics, fear has been inculcated into us Jews. It lives in our cells, full of real trauma and suffering, centuries of expulsions and pogroms, ghettos and methodical extermination.
And to some degree, fear is wise. As Hannah Arendt said, fear is an emotion indispensable to survival.

But when fear threatens the principles upon which our existence is based, when fear for security holds our ethics hostage, then fear becomes the sovereign power in our lives, and justifies any action.

What an incredible metaphor this "security barrier" is for our own lives! We all carry fears and build walls that shape the landscape of our days. But at what price? Walls keep us safe, but lonely; highly functioning, yet disconnected; protected, but also numb. And the same goes for nations as for individuals. The danger of our barriers is a kind of sclerosis of the soul, a deadening of our humanity.

It's risky for Jewish leaders to criticize the wall and Israel's occupation—most submit to consensual silence, another kind of deadly wall. But we must choose: Risking one's reputation or not speaking and risking one's soul?

I pray we be given the courage to break down the walls of cement and silence, that we might reach beyond our fear and return to our simple humanity—therein lies our greatness, therein lies the redemption of the Zionist dream.

In-N-Out Bible Reference Uncovered

I did some research and discovered the meaning behind In-N-Out's use of semi-hidden bible passages on their packaging (see previous post). Turns out that when Rich Snyder, the son of the company's founder, became president he made the decision to put the references on the cups and burger wrappers. Snyder, a devout christian who was responsible for In-N-Out's amazing expansion in the late 1980s, died in a plane crash in 1994. The company decided that the biblical references would remain as a sort of memorial to the late president. I'd still like to find out why Snyder put them there in the first place.